Ever
wondered what colour or marking your rat is?Then here's the place to find out!

This
is not an official standards page for any rat club, but rather a basic
reference for the Australian pet rat owner. Here you will see
photos
of different colours and markings in pet rats (many are mismarked, or
not perfect show rats) to give you an idea of what your rats colours
and markings may be.

There
are large variations in colours and markings in rats due to genetics, coat condition,the age of the rat, and the camera settings used in the photos. Even the names of the
standards between different clubs (both in Australia and overseas) vary. So
consider this webpage just a simple guide for the pet rat owner.

Coat type

Body type

Most
Australian rats have
standard coats. There are some rex (curly) and silky (fine and
shiny) coated rats, although they are rare. There are no hairless
rats
in Australia.

In Australia all rats have
standard ears (no dumbos). There are a small number of manx (tailless)
rats and also a few odd-eyed rats (two different coloured eyes).

A berkshire that has a
coloured stripe on the belly. This stripe covers the middle of
the belly, so that you only see the edges of the white berkshire marking.

Shown: Bermuda Rose (agouti DU berkshire) [ photo by Brats Tails Rattery ]
The agouti DU belly stripe is light coloured (no dark guard hairs on
the belly fur) but you can still distinguish the white berkshire
markings to the sides of the stripe.

Colours

Note:
More photos of each rat shown can be seen by clicking the rat's name. Many
of these links show the rat's coat throughout their lives,
from baby coats to old coats with various amounts of rusting. In many cases there's also links to other rats of the same colour to show you variations within the colour.

Agouti

A ticked
coat appearing generally brownish grey with black guard hairs, with a lighter
grey belly. Black eyes. Agouti is the colour most seen on wild
rats. They can become rusted to brown and yellowish tones with age.

A
ticked coat with a distinct orange hue and a lighter cream undercoat
and belly. Ruby eyes. Can be confused with cinnamon (the
colours of both vary widely), but argente can be confirmed by the ruby
eyes and lack of dark guard hairs.

A ticked coat in a rich orange to ginger colour with a distinctive slate grey undercoat.
Ruby
eyes. Can be confused with argente as they can appear identical
in colour, but topaz has a slate grey undercoat while argente has a
creamy white undercoat.

A slate
grey-blue to pale grey-blue in colour. Black eyes.
Sometimes confused with mink, but blue is distinctly
grey-blue, while mink tends to be a warmer brown. Blue agouti is
a similar colour, but with a ticked fur.

Baby coats:
Rats do not grow in their adult coat until about 12-14 weeks of age.
Before that they tend to have lighter coloured, softer coats and
sometimes odd looking markings (e.g. minks often get lighter
coloured diamonds on their heads as they moult). Unless you're
experienced, it can sometimes be difficult to determine the colour of a
rat before the adult coat grows in.

Downunder: A
marking that first appeared in Australia, which has a coloured
stripe down the belly. The DU marking can be seen on hooded rats
and berkshires.

Eye colour: Rats
can have black, ruby or pink (or red) eyes. Black
and pink eyes are obvious, while ruby eyes often appear black
until seen in the light.

Guard hairs: The longest, thickest hairs in a rat's coat, forming the top (or outer) coat.

Mismarked: Refers to a rat with imperfect markings compared to a show standard.

Rusting: This
refers to the coat colour becoming variable with age. Usually black
rats will "rust" to a brownish red colour, minks tend to go brownish, white rats may go yellowish, and
normally dark agoutis tend to lighten to brown or yellowish white. This usually
occurs in variable patches, typically on their lower back and sides.

Silvered: A
coat which is interspersed with individual white hairs. This is usually
seen in black and mink coats.

Ticked:Colour
type where each fur
strand has several colours on it. e.g. agouti has grey, brown and
black on each fur strand, making the rat's coat look peppered with
colours
rather than one solid colour. As the darker tips are not present
on the belly fur, the bellies of ticked rats are lighter than the rest
of the coat.